When Warner Home Video's new DVD for Mama's Boy found its way into my mailbox this week, it caught me off guard. I'd just seen the trailer for it a few weeks ago on another DVD and thought, "Hey, I'll check that out." But it said Coming This November. "Oh, they're advertising a bit early. I guess I'll have to wait." Little did I know they meant last November, and that short of New Zealand, Turkey, and Romania, this film hadn't seen a theater screen. Not a good sign.
But when my wife and I sat down to watch Mama's Boy we found it very surprising. It wasn't a bad film at all. In fact, it was kind of cute. But it was immediately and abundantly clear exactly why this movie had been scrapped. It isn't a movie for most mainstream audiences. While Mama's Boy is a mainstream-style comedy that possesses a dry wit, it's popuated with unlikable characters. It's not that you hate them, but you don't ever like them. And that is a very bad thing for a mainstream comedy.
Jon Heder plays the titular mama's boy, eccentric Jeffrey Mannus, a 29-year-old wanna-be astronomer who responded to the death of his father at a young age by becoming inseparable from his mother Jan, played by Diane Keaton. But after mom hooks up with a new beau, Mert Rosenbloom (Jeff Daniels), Jeffrey reacts to the news poorly.
What follows is the typical out-of-control-spiral-into-the-darkside snipefest between Heder and Daniels -- a setup reminiscent of the classic Rushmore. Trouble is, Jeffrey's a jerk. A big, giant chucklehead. There are words for guys like this, but my editor prefers that I not use them. Seriously, imagine Jason Schwartzman from Rushmore, only even more pompous, arrogant, and without the real intelligence to back it up. Oh, I know this guy -- I've met many like him -- and Jeffrey is a great caricature of the type. But the movie barely manages to dangle the thinnest carrot of likability as a means to keep you watching.
And really, that's what prevents this from being a film for everyone. Because Jeffrey isn't the only barely likable character. The entire cast skirts the shores of dweebsville. Daniels plays one of those cheesy motivational speakers who spits out fortune-cookie answers that sound like they were read out of a Hallmark card. Keaton's Jan is spineless and plays into her demanding, loser son's every whim.
Anna Faris's Nora, the film's love interest, is a weak joke/commentary on the alterna-be culture. She's a singer writing an album about the evils of consumerism and corporations, while she's drinking coffee at Starbucks. Get it? Sigh. Fortunately, if you could capture sunlight in a jar and then coalesce it into a solid state, it would form Anna Faris. And they let Faris be Faris.
If there's one thing to be said about Mama's Boy, it's that the cast does an incredible job of overcoming their pathetic characters and making you feel for and kind of like them -- or at least you'll get where they're coming from.
As a comedy, the over-the-top, mainstream jokes tend to fall flat. But if you're paying attention to the wry, off-the-cuff remarks thrown out there by Faris, Daniels, Sarah Chalke, and an underused Eli Wallach, there's enough real humor that also serves as part of that keeping-you-endeared-to-them thing.
All in all, Mama's Boy is worth a watch as an interesting experiment in the type of character study you see more often in indie fare.
DVD extras are simply a routine commentary track by director Tim Hamilton and a collection of deleted scenes. Not a one of those deleted scenes is worth seeing, and together they make you believe that an editor or producer stepped in to save the film from itself through cutting, but the director insisted that they get placed on the disc.
Showing posts with label Latest in DVD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latest in DVD. Show all posts
Jun 7, 2008
On DVD: Mama's Boy
May 14, 2008
Frank Sinatra: The Golden Years
Want to see what Frank Sinatra's major star attraction was all about? The most prestigious of the four boxed sets getting a simultaneous release by Warner Brothers is Frank Sinatra: The Golden Years. The mix boasts two of Sinatra's better dramas and one of his best comedies, as well as one dated misfire and an odd war film that he directed himself. That gives us Ol' Blue Eyes both at the top of his form, and a decade later when he was an overbooked champion of recordings, movies, and live performances. All the films are new to DVD, if you count this fully authorized release of The Man with the Golden Arm.
The glossy romantic comedy The Tender Trap is a perfect fit for MGM of 1955, a quantum improvement on his (mostly) disposable musicals of a few years before. Adapted only slightly from Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith's very funny play, the majority of the action takes place in one New York bachelor apartment. Sinatra proves himself a natural for the role of a Manhattan playboy brought to heel by a girl with marriage on her mind. The emphasis on the female imperative differentiates this farce from Sinatra's later Rat Pack pix: Sinatra's swinger is really a sentimentalist ripe for the picking.
Julius J. Epstein's screenplay gives theatrical agent Charlie Reader (Sinatra) more beautiful dames than he knows what to do with. They volunteer to clean his house and walk his dog, pretty much catering to his every whim. Charlie has a somewhat steady girl in Sylvia Crewes (Celeste Holm) but she's beginning to think that no power on earth can win her a proposal. Visiting college buddy Joe McCall (David Wayne) marvels at his host's luck with women and considers straying from his wife and three children back home. But the real catalyst is Julie Gillis (Debbie Reynolds), a young dramatic hopeful with an ironclad agenda to acquire a husband and three kids, all on a pre-planned timetable. Reynolds played a main role in Max Shulman's original film version of The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (note the name connection). The most forceful character in the later Dobie Gillis TV show was Zelda Gilroy, a boyfriend-hungry co-ed who is essentially Julie Gillis pushed to a further extreme.
The Tender Trap states the 1950s attitude on matrimony right up front. While Charlie and Sylvia listen in amazement, the determined Julie declares that a woman isn't a woman until she's married and has children. Julie refuses to sign a full-term theatrical contract because she plans to marry and retire in just four months ... even though there's no sign of a fiancée on her horizon. Charlie is strongly attracted, when he should be running for the exit. The female barracuda assumes she's engaged as soon as Charlie tries to get cozy (Julie: "That's not necking, that's nibbling!"). Sinatra revolts for one night but knows he's hooked, despite the fact that he's asked Sylvia to marry him in the interim. The script keeps four pleasant characters (well, three and one "sweet" barracuda) supplied with warm and witty dialogue. Once one accepts Julie's notion that marriage is the rightful goal of all noble human endeavor, The Tender Trap is very amusing. Debbie Reynolds has sharp teeth, David Wayne is pleasantly confused and Celeste Holm is both insightful and lovable, negating the handicap of the "thankless role."
As the playboy with four too many girlfriends, Sinatra is certainly up to snuff. It was a busy film year for him, considering that 1955 saw the release of this picture, Guys and Dolls and the next movie in this collection, The Man with the Golden Arm. The New York agent racket looks like good work, as Charlie spends most of his days getting up at noon and lounging on the sofa with a selection of hot numbers. Jarma Lewis, Lola Albright and a captivating Carolyn Jones are Charlie's to-die-for girlfriends. Sylvia meets Tom Helmore (Vertigo) in an elevator and a young James Drury has a bit as Charlie's assistant.
Turner's enhanced transfer of The Tender Trap has bright colors and the sharpness necessary to register facial expressions in the many wide master shots. The opening and closing renditions of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's hit title song appear to be filmed in front of the painted sky backdrop of MGM's water tank, used for ocean-going scenes and miniature shoots. Sinatra walks up and over the concrete weir that serves as an invisible ocean horizon when the tank is filled with water. The smooth featurette Frank in the Fifties covers Sinatra's transition from '40s musical sensation to self-assured superstar reasserting his own personality.
read more this story at film.com
Sep 16, 2007
Avaliable on DVD: DEAD OR ALIVE (2007)
Based on the popular Dead or Alive video games, this action flick focuses on a group of gorgeous, highly trained and — to distract their horndog adversaries — scantily clad female fighters.
Cast Devon Aoki, Jaime Pressly, Matthew Marsden, Sarah Carter, Holly Valance, Natassia Malthe (more)
Director(s) Corey Yuen
Writer(s) J.F. Lawton, Adam Gross, Seth Gross, Granz Henman
Status On DVD
Genre(s) Action/Adventure
Release Date June 15, 2007
DVD Release Date Sept. 4, 2007
Running Time 87 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 - PG-13 for pervasive martial arts and action violence, some sexuality and nudity.
Web Site Official Site for DOA: Dead or Alive
Keywords Action, Scantily Clad Women
buy the DVD at amazon:
Mar 12, 2007
Recently Released DVDs and Videos
The following is a list of recently released DVDs and videos. All capsule reviews have been taken from The Washington Post's Weekend section.
"Borat" (R, 89 minutes): Borat, played with seamless disingenuousness by Sacha Baron Cohen, has come to America to make a feature-length documentary for the people of his home country (played by Romania). His tour of America begins in New York -- where Borat mistakes a hotel elevator for his room and later meets with a group of feminists ("Give me a smile, baby, why the angry face?"). But soon he's on his way to California and then through the South. As Borat cuts his wide and occasionally vicious swath, no petard goes unhoisted, a spectacle that delivers squeals, howls or at least low-level chuckles. The movie is a perfect combination of slapstick and satire, a Platonic ideal of high- and lowbrow that manages to appeal to our basest common denominators while brilliantly skewering racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and that peculiarly American affliction: we're-number-one-ism. Contains pervasive crude and sexual content, including graphic nudity, and profanity. DVD Extras: Deleted scenes; featurettes.
"Confetti" (R, 94 minutes): This faux documentary is about a wedding magazine that enlists three couples to compete for "Most Original Wedding of the Year." Written and directed by Debbie Isitt, it resembles the hit BBC series "The Office" and "Extras" in its up-close-and-poisonous vérité style. It even stars one of the best-loved actors from "The Office," Martin Freeman, here playing a bridegroom whose fiancee (Jessica Stevenson) dreams of a wedding by Busby Berkeley. The other two couples are nudists and fiercely competitive tennis players. As they prepare for their big day, they are helped along by wedding planners who, as gay men, can't legally marry but prove to be the most loving couple of the lot. Isitt cheats a bit with the contrivances, and the movie is an exercise in mostly unfunny bickering and bad behavior. Still, the climactic scenes possess an irresistible charm, as each wedding turns out to be just perfect. Contains nudity and profanity. DVD Extras: Alternate endings; video diary entries; trailers.
"Fast Food Nation" (R, 106 minutes): This film offers a thinly fictionalized structure affixed to some serious meat industry reportage originally by Eric Schlosser for a book of the same name. The film dramatizes Schlosser's findings, assigning his discoveries to personalities in and around hamburger culture. The story is set in Cody, Wyo., where the film chronicles intersecting lives within a giant meatpacking installation in that beautiful western city. Looking like something out of Dickens's smoky, slummy London, this hellish plant ingests cattle at one end and churns out billions of little red disks of meat-like product at the other. But the movie is weak and works far better as journalism than as drama. Contains profanity, sexual situations and authentic footage of slaughterhouse operations. DVD Extras: Director and writer commentaries; featurette; animated shorts; photo gallery.
Also on DVD March 6: "The Full Monty: The Fully Exposed Edition"; "Hawaii 5-O: The Complete First Season"; "The Ernest Hemingway Film Collection"; "Let's Go To Prison"; "Literary Classics Collection"; "Peter Pan: Platinum Edition"; "Revenge of the Nerds: Special Edition"; "South Park: The Complete Ninth Season"; and "Stargate Atlantis: Season 2."
February 27
"Conversations with God" (PG, 109 minutes): This is a dramatization of Neale Donald Walsch's bestseller of the same name, a chronicle of the author's journey from homelessness to a spiritual awakening that resulted in -- ain't life grand -- a million-dollar book contract. Clearly, millions have found Walsch's New Age message of self-forgiveness and unconditional love a rewarding one. Henry Czerny portrays Walsch in a story that begins with the author on a fancy book tour and flashes back to the pivotal moments of his life. There's nothing particularly objectionable about the film (other than its inert movie-of-the-week structure) until Walsch takes his God-spokesman role too far. Suddenly, the platitudes that have seemed like harmless bromides take on the sinister tone of a guy selling snake oil. Contains thematic elements, some profanity and a brief accident. DVD Extras: Trailers.
"A Good Year" (PG-13, 118 minutes): "Under the Tuscan Son of 'Sideways.' " That's one way to think of this unfathomable adaptation of Peter Mayle's novel. Unfathomable because what on paper looks like a sure-fire formula -- France, romance, wine and Russell Crowe -- falls as flat as a bottle of corked Bordeaux. Crowe plays Max Skinner, a high-powered London broker who inherits a chateau and vineyard in Provence. When the harried exec travels to France to sell the property, he crosses paths with all manner of characters. Crowe runs the emotional gamut from bored to perplexed to just plain miserable in a romantic comedy that is neither romantic nor comic. Contains profanity and sexual content. DVD Extras: Director commentary; behind-the-scenes; trailer.
"The Heart of the Game" (PG-13, 98 minutes): This documentary about a first-time basketball coach who takes a girls' high school team from obscurity to the state championships combines nonstop action with an absorbing story to become a classic on par with "Hoosiers" and "Hoop Dreams." It's set in Roosevelt High School in Seattle, whose girls' basketball team hasn't exactly burned up the boards. The coach -- a college tax professor named Bill Resler, decides to moonlight as the team's coach out of a love for the game and a belief in women's sports. There are the initial David-and-Goliath victories, the squabbles, the sweat, the tears, the joy. And then there's Darnellia Russell, who possesses the intuitive physical genius of a great player; when her story takes a twist and she's barred from playing, the film acquires an unexpected depth and urgency. Filmmaker Ward Serrill followed the team for seven years, and that commitment paid off: With only a couple of exceptions, he was on hand for the most pivotal moments in the extraordinary story of the Roughriders and the lives of its players. Contains brief strong profanity. DVD Extras: Director commentary; production interviews; deleted scenes; making-of featurette.
"Stranger Than Fiction" (PG-13, 105 minutes): Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) keeps hearing a voice in his head. It belongs to Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), an English writer who just happens to be writing a novel about a character named... Harold Crick. This is the movie's best gimmick: that Harold can actually hear Eiffel. She seems deeply aware of his dull personal life, and even worse, in her final chapter she plans to . . . kill off the character! The only thing keeping the real Harold alive, apparently, is her creative indecision as she figures out how to get rid of him. We nearly lick our lips, anticipating the intriguing resolutions ahead: how Eiffel invented Harold, for instance, or what mysterious psychic destiny brought these two together. Unfortunately -- or not, depending on your perspective -- the filmmakers seem to have their minds on some other movie. Contains some disturbing images, sexual content, brief profanity and nudity. DVD Extras: Deleted and extended scenes; producer and writer commentaries; featurettes.
"Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" (R, 93 minutes): Jack Black and Kyle Gass bring characters they created for the HBO program "Mr. Show With Bob and David" to the big screen with mixed success, depending on the age, gender and degree of inebriation of the filmgoer. Black plays the wannabe rocker JB, who is kicked out of his Midwestern family's house and comes to Los Angeles to embark on a career as a rock god; there he meets Gass, whose hobbies include busking, getting high and inflating his own failed career as a guitarist. The movie is nominally about how the men's band, Tenacious D, got started and found fame and fortune by stealing a guitar pick made out of the devil's tooth. It's really an excuse for extended scatological gags, in-joke cameos and self-referential songs that both lampoon and celebrate rock at its most ridiculously grandiose. Contains pervasive profanity, sexual content and drug use. DVD Extras: Director and actor commentaries; music videos; featurettes; trailers; deleted scenes. More new released DVD click here
Mar 10, 2007
Now Available in DVD "The Queen"
Helen Mirren richly deserved her Academy Award for best actress and writer Peter Morgan, as one of three credited screenwriters for The Last King of Scotland, pulled off a regal Oscar double last month.
And if he hadn't already amazed us with an identikit Tony Blair in Morgan's TV breakthrough The Deal, Michael Sheen would surely have had more plaudits for his PM here: the meetings between eager smiley prime minister and frosty monarch are a comic delight and, like much of the film, seem all too credible.
DVD
The Queen
**** (Cert 12)
Rob Mackie
Friday March 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Helen Mirren richly deserved her Academy Award for best actress and writer Peter Morgan, as one of three credited screenwriters for The Last King of Scotland, pulled off a regal Oscar double last month.
And if he hadn't already amazed us with an identikit Tony Blair in Morgan's TV breakthrough The Deal, Michael Sheen would surely have had more plaudits for his PM here: the meetings between eager smiley prime minister and frosty monarch are a comic delight and, like much of the film, seem all too credible.
Stephen Frears' movie is skilful too in providing something for everyone - monarchists can get behind the Queen's admirable restraint as the tabloids bayed, while nests of republicans who prefer The Royle Family can enjoy a view of a starchy, out-of-touch bunch in a stagnant pond of absurd protocol. Yet it never descends to caricature.
Apart from a couthed up Alastair Campbell (a necessity or the 12 certificate goes out the window), there is very little compromise on show. I wasn't too convinced by Alex Jennings' Prince Charles but Sylvia Syms' Queen Mother is immaculate, and the versatile James Cromwell - as near a spitting image Duke of Edinburgh as you could hope for - gets spot-on lines.
Frears, a man of many genres and master of quite a few, sums it up nicely in the extras: "It's an unsensational film, but making it is sensational." [source: The Guardian]
Mar 9, 2007
New DVD Report | 3/6/07
There are some meaty DVD releases this Tuesday. What are we looking at? Oscar nominees, children's classics and one totally '80s comedy that will have you fondly reminiscing.
1. Borat
I haven't seen this (crazy, I know) but here is my chance. This version doesn't look like anything too special, and you can just tell they are lining us up for a special edition at some point. It has a Hebrew language button, which you have to admire. Borat is beloved and is a safe bet for a screening with some buddies. Niiiiice!
2. Peter Pan Platinum Edition
This is a kid's special, an afternoon off for mom and dad. This edition is packed with games, an alternate opening, and a DVD story book. Oooh, and they even say there is "more" on the disc that they haven't even mentioned. That's undefined and thus has the chance to be amazing.
3. Revenge of the Nerds Panty Raid Edition
I don't know what to make of this because it's not really a lavish version that would necessitate going to the well on a film that's now 23 years old. Six deleted scenes? A commentary? I don't know, perhaps it's just a chance for everyone to update their DVD catalogue. I remember laughing at this, but back then I laughed at just about anything, including juice coming out of nostrils.
4. Fast Food Nation
Here we have a deeply flawed movie about the deeply flawed beef industry. Personally I wish this would have been made as a documentary to the book instead of a drama, but no one bothered to ask me. One note if you do watch: Ashley Johnson is the next big thing. I promise.
5. South Park The Complete Ninth Season
How has this been on nine years? That seems impossible for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which should be the boys' propensity to offend. I haven't watched the show in years, but I don't remember an episode that didn't have at least a few laughs.
6. The Full Monty The Fully Exposed Edition
Two commentaries and ten deleted scenes -- it's enough to make you wonder why they didn't release this edition ten years ago when the film came out. But for all you guys who prudently waited, well done. I doff my cap to you. Your patience has paid off.
7. Let's Go to Prison
Six percent on RottenTomatoes and $4.6m at the box office means we've got our Tuesday "beer-a-clock" special! This should only be screened with mean-spirited friends. If you want to read a vicious review of the DVD, check out my bud Brad.
See you next Tuesday!
---------------------------------------Laremy Legel -- Mail Laremy Read More......
Mar 3, 2007
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Starring: John Lennon, Tariq Ali, Carl Bernstein, Noam Chomsky, Walter Cronkite
Directed by: David Leaf, John Scheinfeld
This documentary by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld succeeds as both a loving tribute and as a remarkable historical document. The film traces Lennon's transformation from artist into anti-war activist and then shows the U.S. government's reactionary response. If a man and a woman staging a "bed-in" for peace scared the bejesus out of the deeply strange duo of Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover, one can't help but wonder how Bush and Cheney would respond today.
Oliver Stone Brings 14-Hour-Long Alexander to DVD
It's been sitting here on my desk for more than a week now: a pre-release screener of Oliver Stone's 2004 epic disaster Alexander, now in an unrated director's cut out on DVD today. Okay, it's not really 14 hours long, but the theatrical cut felt as long as centuries of ancient Persian warfare, so how could an even longer cut not feel downright epochal? I'm dreading watching it: it's not like the original version of the film suffered from wild lapses in plot. Yes, it suffered from a few missing pieces in the story of the boy conqueror -- my original review from 2004 is a horrifying reminder of a traumatic cinematic experience -- but it suffered way more from what was in the film ... like hilariously over-the-top performances from the likes of the often terrible Angelina Jolie and the usually reliable Colin Farrell. They will, at least, be good for some laughs during the rewatching, I'm sure. As may the new material, an extra 30 minutes of, apparently, "thunderous action" and "evocative sexuality" that will now, we are promised, recall Lawrence of Arabia and Patton.
Oh dear. Now I really must watch this.
If nothing else, the warning label on the consumer product -- "Content Advisory for Violence and Explicit Sexual Situations" -- is sure to move a few copies. But the best thing, I'm guessing, about the new DVD? It comes with a free pass to see the new ancient-warfare flick 300, which is awesome.
Okay, I promise to buckle down and check this out. If you hear snickers of derision, that'll be me.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
MaryAnn Johanson
author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride
minder of FlickFilosopher.com
Feb 28, 2007
New DVD Releases | 2/27/07
Five major movie releases and a few televisions shows thrown in for good measure. It's Tuesday, it's DVD time, it's coming at you fast. 1. Alexander The Unrated Final Cut 2. Stranger than Fiction 3. Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny 4. A Good Year 5. Seinfeld The Complete Seasons 1-7 6. Magnum P.I. The Complete Sixth Season 7. The Return We'll always have Topeka. See you next Tuesday!
Why do we keep going back to the well on Alexander? Because the studio refused Oliver Stone his vision two times in a row. The potential this film showed merits at least a rental of the "Final Cut."
There was something flawed here that I never quite put my finger on, but I try and support all things Will Ferrell. It might be our civic duty to buy this so he can continue working on whatever he pleases.
I love the D but this didn't rock anywhere near hard enough. One of the bigger letdowns of 2006, I wish they would have given us an unrated version here.
This was ushered out of theatres faster than you could say, "throwing a phone at your head." A very rare Ridley Scott misfire.
People have claimed this isn't aging well, but I caught the "Not that there's anything wrong with that" episode last night and still had some laughs. These seven seasons will set you back $200 over on Amazon.com, but you can't put a price on four straight days of comedy (if you forgo sleep) plus the first two seasons being remastered in high definition.
I don't know what happens in season six. You don't either. But I guarantee you it involves some Dobermans, a Detroit Tigers hat, and our buddy Higgins. Sigh. I miss Tom Selleck.
Nineteen percent on Rotten Tomatoes and $7m at the box office are not positive metrics. If you're a crazy cinephile this might be a late-night weekend beer special. For the rest of us it's a skip.
Laremy Legel -- Mail Laremy
Feb 27, 2007
Available in DVD: Flushed Away (2006)
Synopsis
In this new comedy set on and beneath the streets of London, Roddy St. James is a pampered pet mouse who thinks he's got it made. But when a sewer rat named Sid -- the definition of 'low life' -- comes spewing out of the sink and decides it's his turn to enjoy the lap of luxury, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the loo for a dip in the 'whirlpool.' Roddy's plan backfires when he inadvertently winds up being the one flushed away into the bustling world down below. Underground, Roddy discovers a vast metropolis, where he meets Rita, a street-wise rat who is on a mission of her own. If Roddy is going to get home, he and Rita will need to escape the clutches of the villainous Toad, who royally despises all rodents and has dispatched two hapless hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, as well as his cousin, a dreaded mercenary, Le Frog, to see that Roddy and Rita are iced... literally.
Cast + crew
Starring : Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy
Director : Sam Fell, Henry F Anderson III, David Bowers
Producers : Cecil Kramer, Peter Lord, David Sproxton
Screenwriters : Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Watch Flushed Away Trailer
More video
Visit Official Site
Read More......
Feb 26, 2007
Alternative DVD Picks | 2/23/07
This week some big name titles (like The Prestige ... go get it!) were released, but a couple of them left me a little underwhelmed. If you didn't care for some of those titles, here are some alternatives.
Babel leaving you unenthused? Check out director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's previous films, 21 Grams and Amores Perros. Babel is actually a pretty good flick, but if you are really looking for an introduction to Inarritu's small but impressive library, start with Amores Perros. I've read a couple of knuckle-headed people accuse Babel of being a rip-off of Crash. It isn't. If anything, Crash is a rip-off of 21 Grams and Amores Perros. All films contain multiple stories surrounding an accident. But nobody made a film to match Amores Perros' entertainment value or power.
I have yet to see For Your Consideration, Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy's latest mockumentary, and to be honest, I'm a little hesitant. I have not heard good things, and this coming from big fans of Guest and Levy's previous films. I would suggest you play it safe and check out Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show, two of the funniest movies you are likely to see.
The only problem with these two movies is trying to figure out which one makes your gut bust more. Guffman holds a special place in my heart because back when I was a young'un and participated in some high-school plays, I experienced a lot of what Guest mocks in his film. The tension between the music director and the theatre director ... the serious lack of talent (yours truly included) ... the missing budget ... the D.Q. (Dairy Queen) .... We never quite had a Corky St. Clair directing our play, but it sure was close. And no, he didn't own an Andrew McCarthy bobblehead. Or a Remains of the Day lunchbox. Don't get it? Then check this movie out now!
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Dre writes five times a week for Film.com, covering movies and DVD with his Floridian flare. E-mail him! (source: http://www.film.com/story/alternativedvdpicks22307/13576994?listid=11597476&genre=dvd)
Feb 23, 2007
New Release DVD: "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006)
Plot Summary
* Genres: Documentary
* Tagline: A Global Warning
* Plot Outline: A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
* Plot Keywords: Social Commentary | Armageddon | Ecosystem | Catastrophe | Glacier | Propaganda | Ground Zero | Greenhouse Effect | Global Warming | Environmental Issues | Humanity | Apocalyptic | Calcutta India | Deforestation | Electric Car | Vice President | New Orleans | Presidential Election | Greenland | Idealism | Hope | Tsunami | Pollution | Environmentalism | Solar Power | Cannes Film Festival | Patagonia | Environmental Activism | Shanghai | Polar Bear
Product Details
o Synopsis: Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change in the most talked-about documentary at Sundance. An audience and critical favorite, An Inconvenient Truth makes the compelling case that global warming is real, man-made, and its effects will be cataclysmic if we don’t act now. Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way: often humorous, frequently emotional, always fascinating. In the end, An Inconvenient Truth accomplishes what all great films should: it leaves the viewer shaken, involved and inspired.
o Actors: Al Gore
o Directors: Davis Guggenheim
o Release Year: 2006
o Studio: Paramount
o Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
o ASIN: B000KZ3BWE
o Average Customer Review: based on 5 reviews. (Write a review.)
o Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10 in Unbox Video (See Top Sellers in Unbox Video)
o Run Time: 97 min
o Video File Size: 1.82 GB
o Video Bitrate: 2500 kbps
o Aspect Ratio: 1.76:1
o Audio Channels: 2
o Portable File Size: 457.78 MB
o Note: Each Amazon Unbox Video purchase includes both a DVD-quality video file suitable for playback on a large screen (your PC or TV), plus a video file designed for playback on compatible Windows Media video portable devices.
Estimated Time To Begin Watching
Connection Speed 6 Mbps 3 Mbps 1.5 Mbps
Estimated Time to Begin Watching 2.5 min 5 mins 48 mins
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New DVD Releases : Man of the Year (2006)
Synopsis
To make waves on the campaign trail, a late-night political talkshow host runs for president--only to have his prank backfire when he actually wins the election.
Starring : Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum
Director : Barry Levinson
Producers : Robert N. Fried, Barry Levinson, James G. Robinson
Screenwriters : Barry Levinson
Review
Remember when CNN's Larry King prodded Ross Perot to run for president in 1992 against George Bush and Bill Clinton? In the unexpectedly straight-faced Man of the Year, Jon Stewart-ish fake TV newsman Tom Dobbs (Williams) makes a similar White House run at a fan's urging. And the sharp-tongued, finger-pointing political satirist wins. But think again if you next expect director/writer Barry Levinson—the brains behind Wag the Dog—to explore the comic possibilities of a president trying to run the country without Democratic or Republican support. Instead, Levinson's stupidity turns Man of the Year into an overwrought cautionary tale about e-voting. See, a computer voting error accidentally manipulated the results in Dobbs' favor. But rather than examine the fallout of a tainted election, Man of the Year quickly and preposterously goes from The Candidate to Enemy of the State. Levinson unwisely shifts his attention to the woman responsible for discovering the glitch in her company's electronic voting system. While the president-elect makes public appearances dressed as George Washington, Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) discovers that her bosses will do anything—including resorting to violence—to stop her from going public for fear the scandal would bankrupt their company.
New on DVD: Babel (2006)
Synopsis
Armed with a Winchester rifle, two Morrocan boys set out to look after their family's herd of goats. In the silent echoes of the desert, they decide to test the rifle… but the bullet goes farther than they thought it would. In an instant, the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three different continents collide. Caught up in the rising tide of an accident that escalates beyond anyone's control are a vacationing American couple, a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and a Mexican nanny who, without permission, takes two American children across the border. None of these strangers will ever meet; in spite of the sudden, unlikely connection between them, they will all remain isolated due to their own inability to communicate meaningfully with anyone around them.
Starring : Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Mahima Chaudhry
Director : Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Producers : Jon Kilik, Steve Golin
Screenwriters Guillermo Arriaga
Release date : October 27, 2006
Runtime : 142 minutes
Visit babel official site, http://www.paramountvantage.com/babel/
More about film, visit www.film.com
Feb 21, 2007
New DVD Releases | 2/20/07
On the list today we've got two movies I heartily recommend, one critical darling, and four misses, some near and some far. Let's count them down from "must have" to "no thanks."
1. The Prestige
This is an entertaining film for anyone. It's got twists and turns, magic and Scarlett Johansson. Christian Bale also lays claim to the title of best actor for the current decade, though he's got years left to go yet. Make Batman already! Sadly this DVD isn't too special, with only a limited Christopher Nolan (director) featurette. Hmmm. So when's that special edition coming out, guys? After the Oscar?
2. Flushed Away
I advocate this kid's movie (mia reviewa). If you can get past the initial potty joke, you'll really like the action and comedy no matter how old you are (unless you're 56, that's an awkward age). This disc is a little more lavish than our first contender: it's got a full commentary, music videos (by slugs no less!) and some interactive features for the smaller people in your life. I like this one. Give it an own.
3. For Your Consideration
This is a flawed Christopher Guest film, which is like catching a South Florida snowstorm. I love Chris Guest, but this film is far too cutesy and affected to be skeweringly comedic like Best in Show or Waiting for Guffman. The DVD also seems highly lacking on the features. Mr. Guest, come back to the light!
4. Babel
Critics fell all over themselves trying to love on this film, but I truly despised it for the emotional manipulation. I would link to my review but it's so savage I feel a little guilty. Here is another disc where they're looking to double dip. Buy now, buy an Oscar edition later. This has a great chance at the Best Picture Oscar, so I'd say you at least owe it a rental.
5. Crossover
A very bad movie that should only be consumed if you're looking for an unintentional laugh. It made $7 million at the box office. Astoundingly it has a ZERO percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes, 0 for 59! That's an extremely impressive number.
6. Shut Up and Sing
This is the Dixie Chicks film, and here is the official word:
The film traces the lives and careers of the Dixie Chicks over a period of three years during which they were under political attack and received death threats, while continuing to live their lives, have children, and of course make music.
I haven't seen it and I really haven't loved their music since the album "Wide Open Spaces," which was eight years ago at this point. Nothing personal, and go First Amendment, but not really my bag.
7. Man of the Year
Everyone I know who saw it said, "Not as bad as you'd think!" That doesn't make it good, it just means it won't make you go blind or anything. I don't know what my specific problem is with Robin Williams, but I know that I have one. Robin, email me and let's work this thing out.
Look for me in the cheap seats. (source: www.film.com)
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